How I Create an Eid Grazing Board with Halal Goodies
This grazing board combines sweet and halal savory elements that are perfect for an Eid celebration.
As a child growing up in Egypt, on Eid morning the colorful streets of Cairo were filled with people dressed in their best Eid outfits. The smell of freshly baked Kahk El Eid (a sugar cookie filled with nuts or date paste) wafted in the air. This tradition of enjoying cookies on Eid mornings brings me back to those fond memories in Cairo. Eid is all about breakfast, and because it is the first one in over a month we are enjoying, grazing boards have become a helpful way to bring all your favorite Eid breakfast items together.
This Eid grazing board recipe features some classic Eid items like Kahk El Eid, baklava, ghorayeba, and fresh and dried fruit. (If you’re in Queens, New York, I recommend Al-Sham Sweets & Pastries. If you’re not near a bakery that specializes in these treats, Reema’s Cookies ships nationwide.) These sweet components work well with savory items on the board, like Brie and Gouda cheese, and halal cured meats like beef and sausage.
This board represents what my Eid celebration looks like as an Egyptian living in New York who has a love for making charcuterie boards. It contains the basics — a selection of halal meats and cheeses — next to a host of my favorite sweet treats. Here’s what you’ll find on my Eid board.
- Kahk El Eid is a popular traditional sugar cookie filled with nuts or date paste. You’ll find these cookies on every Middle Eastern Eid breakfast spread. Oftentimes they are dusted with powdered sugar and enjoyed with a cup of mint tea.
- Baklava with pistachios is a classic phyllo dessert that is soaked in a sweet syrup and topped with more crushed pistachios.
- Asawer el sit are crunchy, rolled phyllo rings with a crushed pistachio center and more of that delicious syrup.
- Ghorayeba is one of my favorite Eid cookies. It has a buttery shortbread-like texture and the iconic almond center.
- Apricot jam cookies are sugar cookies dusted with powdered sugar and filled with a delicious apricot jam that goes perfectly with a cup of mint tea.
- Halal cured beef and halal sausage are classic breakfast items usually enjoyed with eggs and other savory sides. For Eid breakfast they are enjoyed on a cracker with dips like labneh with olive oil and za’atar. Halal meat markets often have a wide selection of both of these meats. Ohanyan’s brand is a great option.
- Brie and Gouda are two types of cheeses that complement the board components really well. Brie, with its creamy texture, is very spreadable. Gouda, a harder cheese, is great for stacking with other foods.
- Fresh and dried fruit are especially important on this Eid board, as they complement the nutty cheeses and more savory items. Here I chose grapes and dried apricot, which I love having with cashews and Brie.
Eid Grazing Board Recipe
This grazing board combines sweet and halal savory elements that are perfect for an Eid celebration.
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 2
(about 9-ounce) triple creme Brie cheese rounds, divided
- About 1 pound
Gouda cheese
- 1 cup
labneh
- 3 tablespoons
za'atar seasoning, plus more if desired
- 2 tablespoons
olive oil, plus more if desired
- 1/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces
thinly sliced cured halal beef
- 8 ounces
halal beef sausage, sliced into rounds
- 6
Kahk El Eid
- 6 pieces
baklava topped with pistachios and/or pieces of chocolate
- 6 pieces
asawer el sit
- 3
ghorayeba topped with almonds
- 3
apricot jam cookies
- 6 ounces
dried apricots
- 6 ounces
walnuts
- 3 small bunches
grapes
Instructions
Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut 1 Brie cheese round into a star shape. Cut the second Brie cheese round into 1/4-inch squares. Place the star-shaped Brie near the center of large serving board. Slightly overlap the Brie slices and fan them out next to the star-shaped Brie.
Cut a 1-pound Gouda cheese piece into a crescent moon shape and add it to the board.
Place 1 cup labneh, 3 tablespoons za'atar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl and stir until combined. Top with more olive oil and zaatar, if desired. Place on the board.
Arrange 8 ounces thinly sliced halal beef on the board, folding and bunching the slices artfully. Cut 8 ounces halal beef sausage crosswise into rounds. Arrange them on another section of the board, slightly overlapping the slices.
Arrange 6 Kahk El Eid, 6 pieces baklava, 6 pieces asawer el sit, 3 ghorayeba topped with almonds, and 3 apricot jam cookies in clusters in some of the empty spaces around the board.
Arrange 6 ounces dried apricots, 6 ounces walnuts, and 3 bunches grapes cut into smaller clusters in the remaining spaces on the board.